Tough Love
by Anna Lisa Bradford
Summary: REPOST! Crystal Dragon, a girl from Yamagata's past, has come to join the gang. However, things get messy when emotions get involved. And what about this murder that Kaneda keeps hearing about? Please R&R!
1. A New Member

Tough Love

Chapter #1

© Margarite Estella

Crystal Dragon, who's real name was Yuri Yamamoto, walked up the steps of 8th District Vocational School. For her, it was a brand-new start, and although it wasn't the _best_ of beginnings for most, it was exactly what she wanted.

She had wanted to follow in her father's footsteps and become a biker, just as he had been when he was her age. In fact, in his youth, he had been the leader of the most famous biker gang in Tokyo. He was also Neo-Tokyo's current most famous gangster in the history of the city, right up there with some of the worst criminals. There was only one reason why he wasn't in jail at the moment, and that was because he had promised to stop if they would let him go free. Not that he intended to keep that promise, but he would have said anything and played any mind-game to get out of there. He and his best friend, Yamagata Otomo, father of the _younger_ Yamagata, were as close as brothers, and decided to live in the same apartment complex. Crystal smiled at this thought. She admired her father, and, while they didn't always have the healthiest of relationships, you could not find any other parent and child that were closer. She inquired on whether or not he would teach her about the style of biking that he was used to. At first, he'd absolutely rejected the idea, telling her that it was foolish and dangerous, but when he saw that there was no talking her out of it, he brought his old gang together, schooled her in the art of biking, and bought a suit for her, along with another leather jacket, and a bike. For the final touch, he sent her to a school where she could find more people like her with her interest so that she could make more friends. Hopefully, she could find an acceptable gang there (at least, by her father's standards). He had faith that he'd schooled her well enough that she would demand the respect she deserved in such a way that she wouldn't piss anybody off. Little did she know how deep she would get into this, or what she would find there.

It was a sunny, yet windy day, and Crystal clutched at the sides of her jacket. She walked inside, and heard the doors close. At that moment, she could have sworn that she felt a breeze. _Boys_. She had _completely forgotten_ that _this_ school was _all boys_. Being a girl was not going to be easy in _this_ school. She smiled at the challenge and walked on by. Besides, it wouldn't be that difficult, not with a certain boy that was going to be around.

She and Yamagata had grown up together, and she heard that he was going to be in 8th District Vocational. She would trust him with her life. All she had to do was call on him, and he'd be right there.

Crystal had one thing in mind when she walked into her first class: find Yamagata. As she looked around, she saw one group of students huddled together, students with the "Capsule" logo somewhere on their clothing. The Capsule Gang. That was the group of bikers that Yamagata was with. She looked around for the rising sun graffiti. When she found it, she walked straight up to Yamagata.

"Hey," she sat down on the other side of him, "Remember me?"

Yamagata looked around to find Crystal staring straight at him. He gave a slight grin, and asked, "Where the Hell did you come from?"

"Got kicked out of my other school," she explained, "so I decided to come here."

"Well, there's not much you can do," replied Yamagata, "What happen to your writing?"

"I still write, but I wanted to be a part of a biker gang, too," she said, getting right down to the point, "Dad taught me how to ride, so I was wondering if you could put a good word in there for me when you talk to the Capsules."

"I dunno," said Yamagata, "I don't think they take girls."

"But I'm not an ordinary girl," she protested, then stopped. Acting like a child would get her nowhere fast. "Sorry," she said, "I just wish that I could find people that are a little bit more like me. I'm not into the girly-girl thing, and I'm sick of trying to live up to society's standards. I wanna live dangerously, for once. You know how that feels, don't you?"

"Yeah, I know," said Yamagata, "I'll talk to Kaneda about it. I can't make any guarantees, though. Understood?"

"Understood," she answered back.

"Okay, I'll go talk to Kaneda," said Yamagata, rising from his chair, "Stay right there, I'll be back in a minute." Crystal nodded, and Yamagata left his seat.

Walking up to Kaneda, he tapped him on the shoulder, "Kaneda."

"Yeah?" asked Kaneda in the same quiet voice.

"There's someone I gotta introduce to you."

"Who?"

"There's this girl I know, her name is Crystal, and she's wondering if she can join the gang."

"No," said Kaneda flatly, "You know how girls are, Yama. She'd only slow us down, and she's probably high-maintenance, anyway. I'm not going to choose favorites. She'd only get in the way."

"But she's not like that," Yamagata continued to push the issue.

"How would you know?"

"I've known this girl all my life," said Yamagata, "She can handle it, trust me."

"Alright, we'll try her out," said Kaneda, "Where is she right now?"

"Sitting next to me."

Kaneda looked over at the girl in the biker jacket and whistled, "She's a cuty!"

Yamagata gave Kaneda a severe look, "Don't touch her."

"Why not?" Kaneda looked confused.

"'Cause she's not a fuck-toy," said Yamagata. The severe look melted into an apathetic one, "Well, if you don't want her, it's your loss. She's a damned good biker."

"Okay, bring her over," sighed Kaneda, clearly having lost the argument. He beckoned her to come sit by him, and she got up, taking a seat next to him and Yamagata. He started the conversation, "So, Yama says you're a good biker." She nodded slowly, looking him straight in the eye, giving him a level look. "He also says you want to join the Capsules. Is that also true?"

"Yes," she said, somewhat seriously.

"Tonight, you'll be riding with me on my bike," said Kaneda, "We're going to see how much speed you can handle. If you _can't_ handle it, you're going home. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Can you fight?"

"Didn't Yamagata tell you who my father is?"

"No," said Kaneda almost irritably, "What does he have to do with it?"

"My father is Akira Yamamoto," she explained, "He taught me everything he knows about biking and fighting. I think I can fair pretty well."

"Whatever you say," shrugged Kaneda, "We'll see tonight how good you are."

That evening, as the gang was preparing, Kaneda waited on Crystal.

'What's she doing?' he thought, 'Putting on make-up?'

At that moment, Crystal appeared. She didn't look made up at all.

"Finally!" he said, exasperated.

"Sorry you had to wait," she said, "My Dad's going out of town for the week, and he needed to talk to me before he went."

"Well, are you ready now?"

"Actually, yes," said Crystal, "I've got my helmet, and I'm ready. Let's go."

"Get on," Kaneda ordered, pointing behind him. He started his engine, and looked back at Crystal, grinning, "Hang on." Immediately, the bike went off, and jutted up to about 30 – maybe 35 – miles per hour. To Kaneda's surprise, Crystal was laughing, as if she were on an amusement ride and having the time of her life. Kaneda's grin became even bigger. He was going to like this girl. He sped up even faster, and Crystal _still_ didn't seem to mind. In fact, it seemed as if she liked it even more. Kaneda looked his side-view mirror for a moment, and saw that, even though she was holding on tightly, for the moment, she had her head thrown back, enjoying the breeze. Then, she pulled forward again, and lay her head on his back, closing her eyes contently.

"Don't fall asleep back there," said Kaneda.

"Faster," she said plainly.

"What?"

"Faster," she said, "I wanna go faster!"

Kaneda gunned the engine up a couple more notches. Same result. Nothing seemed to faze her. She seemed to be loving the thrill of literally living in the fast lane. Kaneda grinned. She was _his_ kind of girl.


	2. Changes

Tough Love

Chapter 2: Yearnings

© Margarite Estella

As Crystal walked back to her new apartment, she couldn't help to be satisfied, filled in some strange way. Biking always gave her that kind of contentment. The sound of the motor, the feeling of the engine thrumming beneath her fingers in the throttle. And going fast helped for all her negative feelings for the day to slip away. It was as if, just for a moment in time, she could just run away from all that, and be herself, just by sitting there, on the bike seat. She could relax her muscles and release the tension of the day.

But tonight was somewhat different. She didn't know what it was, but she couldn't stop looking at Yamagata. She knew that she visited him every now-and-then, but today was … different. There was something about him. The way he'd talked to Kaneda about her, his kindness toward her … and some unspoken feeling that she couldn't place. It made her feel warm, as if she were wrapped up in a blanket, like she could close her eyes and just bask in that incredible feeling of warmth.

And there were other things, too. Yamagata was growing up, and so was she. They weren't kids anymore. In fact, both of them were about 15 years old, though Yamagata was a little older, and somehow, that changed everything. She couldn't help but notice his strong build. Sure, Yamagata had always been stalk-y, but she hadn't noticed that he had such a powerful body up until now. Somehow, this separated him from all the rest of the boys she knew. He seemed like more of a man than most that were his age. Sure, other boys were beginning to fill out a little more, but not as much as he was. While he didn't look like a body-builder, he was more muscular than most of his peers, and, yet, still, his body kept a nice lean look, rather than some over-sized "superman" character. His face still kept a boyish look, though, which made him somewhat … appealing.

Crystal felt shocked, as if she had just ran into a brick wall. Her? In love with Yamagata? No. That would only screw things up. And yet, there she was, with the answer to her own questions. All those lonely years of only going to "proper" schools, and it had finally dawned on her: she had never loved anyone like she loved Yamagata right now. Suddenly, it was like he was the center of her whole universe, and she would freeze to death without him there. He was her sun, moon, and stars. And there was no way she could run away from that, not even if she wanted to. But it was going to be impossible to tell him. They were childhood friends, and there was no way he could possibly love her like that.

"Great," she muttered as she made her way to the door, "What am I going to do now?"

Yamagata sighed, confused. He didn't have any idea what was going on. Tonight, she looked so … so … beautiful. In all the time he'd known her he'd never seen her dressed like that, that biker-suit hugging her every curve. His hands ached to hold her, to memorize every ridge and dip of her body. He wanted to taste her mouth, her skin, everything. He wanted to touch parts of her that nobody else had touched before. In his mind, he could already feel her breasts on his fingertips, his lips brushing across her nipples …

"Damn!" he half-shouted. He felt like he was going crazy. And it wasn't just that either. Somehow, she looked more, well, more _womanly_ than all these other girls. Besides that, he knew that he could share anything with her, even his deepest darkest secrets. Why was seeing her like this any different? But, then again, he'd never _seen_ her like this before. It was almost as if she were two different people, all rolled together in one. The first one was the Crystal that he'd always known. The second was an incredibly sexy woman that he'd never seen before. And to make matters worse, Kaneda was after her. This thought sparked up a massive surge of jealousy. Kaneda usually got any girl he wanted. However, that wouldn't happen this time. This time, Yamagata was going to make sure he wasn't going to lay a _hand_ on this girl.

A couple years back, Yamagata had decided that, _if_ he were to ever settle down (which was _highly_ unlikely), it would be with Crystal. It was the perfect plan, because Crystal never got in the way, and he wouldn't have to worry about cheating, because the two would remain friends anyway, instead of lovers, _and_ they would get marriage benefits. Nobody would have to know that they were just friends, and he would be able to date any other woman he wanted. He'd discussed the matter with Crystal, and she had agreed. But now, now everything was different. Before, he hadn't been attracted to her. Now, he couldn't take his eyes off her.

Yamagata sighed. With these kinds of thoughts running through his mind, he _knew_ he wasn't going to be able to get any sleep. One thing was for sure: it was going to be a _long_ night.

It was Friday, and everyone seemed to be pretty relaxed. Well, everyone, with the exception Yamagata and Crystal. Crystal looked up at Yamagata, who was sitting next to her, and then turned her head away. Yamagata stole a glimpse at her out of the corner of his eye. Why was she acting so strange? She'd been acting like this all day, and it was starting to irritate him. It wasn't so much as the way she stared, but the fact that she never looked him in the eyes. He wanted to see those beautiful blues, to look upon that face, but she didn't seem to want to let him.

"Will you quit that?" he whispered over to her.

"Quit what?" she asked.

"That!"

"What do you mean 'that'?"

"The way you look at me!" he said, "You stare and then you turn your head away! Why do you do that? If you're going to stare, then just stare! I don't care, though, why you find me interesting, I don't know. Just knock it off, okay?" To Yamagata's surprise, Crystal blushed.

She looked down at the desk in front of her, suddenly interested in the grain of the wood. "I'm sorry, Yama."

That sent a jolt through Yamagata's veins. Only his girlfriends ever called him Yama. Then again, Crystal had called him that when they were kids.

"It's okay," said Yamagata, somewhat gruffly, "Just don't do that anymore, okay?"

"Okay," she was still staring at the wood.

Suddenly, much to Crystal's surprise, Yamagata grabbed her arm and dragged her into the hall. Yamagata was not known for his patience and thoughts of Crystal had kept him up all night. If this matter were to be dealt with, it was going to be dealt with here and now.

Walking further down the hall, he found an empty conference room, hauled Crystal inside, and locked the door.

"_You_ are driving _me_ _crazy_!" he said with a quiet, agitated intensity.

"I could say the same for you!" she hissed back. She looked into his eyes. They burned like embers. She felt her body heat up. "Why … why are you looking at me like that, Yamagata?"

Yamagata put his lips to her ear, his hot breath tickling her skin, "Why do you _think_ I'm looking at you like that?"

Crystal felt her skin ripple with an anticipation and Yamagata pulled her body closer to his as she shivered. Gently, but with a certain firm persistence, he put his lips to hers. Crystal gave a small moan as she opened her mouth, welcoming his. Gently, he slipped his tongue in, licking the wet smoothness of her own tongue. Enjoying the sensation, Crystal allowed him to explore, timidly exploring his own mouth at the same time. _Nobody_ had ever kissed her like _this_, and _Yamagata_ did that so well!

Softly, he pulled his hands away from the small of her back. Crystal moaned in complaint until she felt them opening her coat and pulling up her shirt. Smoothly, Yamagata rubbed his hands against her smooth, creamy white skin. Slowly, they moved upward, cupping her breasts, until …

BANG! The door slammed open!

"YAMAGATA!" yelled Kaneda, "_What the hell are you_ …" Kaneda stopped right then and there. Yamagata looked at him, the look in his eyes bordering on homicidal, and Crystal's eyes popped wide open, as she struggled to hide behind Yamagata. "Oh," said Kaneda nervously, "Well, uh, I'll … see you later." With that, Kaneda slipped out the door.

Angry, Yamagata pulled away, and suddenly, Crystal was cold. She looked at him as he walked away, upset that he was leaving.

"Yamagata, where are you going?" she asked, her feelings betraying her in her voice.

"Out," he said simply.

"Yamaga-"

"Later." The word was spoken with a cold firmness that left Crystal standing by herself. Was that all he thought she was now? Just another girl? Angry, she yanked her shirt down, put on her coat and stormed out of the conference room, past an inquiring teacher and out the school doors.

"Just _who_ the _hell_ does he _think_ he is, walking out on me like that?" she muttered to herself. Striding past her would-be lover, she walked down the hall, through the double doors, and out of the building.

Yamagata watched as she walked out the door. "Shit," he muttered, angry with himself. With that, he, himself, walked out of the school.

Kaneda quickly followed after him, "Yamagata."

Yamagata turned around, "What do you want?"

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened, okay?" apologized Kaneda, "I didn't mean to just burst in on you like that."

"I know," he said angrily, "but Crystal has just walked out the door, and she's pissed."

"Ah, she'll cool down," said Kaneda, "Girls always do."

"That's the problem," said Yamagata, "She's a _woman_. Women are different."

"Take it easy, Yamagata! Don't worry, she'll be back."

"I'm not so sure," said Yamagata quietly, more to himself than any other person.


End file.
